AI Startup Lets Foresters See the Wood for the Trees

AI startup Trefos is helping foresters see the wood for the trees. Using custom lidar and camera-mounted drones, the Philadelphia-based company collects data for high-resolution, 3D forest maps. These metrics allow government agencies and the forestry industry to estimate the volume of timber and biomass in an area of forest, as well as the amount of carbon stored in the trees. With this unprecedented detail, foresters can make more informed decisions when, for example, evaluating the need for controlled burns to clear biomass and reduce the risk of wildfires. "Forests are often very dense, with a very repetitive layout," said Steven Chen, founder and CEO of the startup, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program, which supports startups from product development to deployment. "We can use deep learning algorithms to detect trees, isolate them from the surrounding branches and vines, and use those as landmarks."